Our Polar Express Party

I just couldn't resist reporting on our Polar Express party. It was so much fun and turned out perfectly--thanks to about 70 people who helped put it together!!

We decided to hold the party in the morning. Everyone met at the "train depot" (the pavilion behind our church building) for hot chocolate and oatmeal (cookies) while waiting for the train.

Our Bishop (leader of our church congregation) punched the tickets and gave a tour of the parking lot while the train traveled to the "North Pole". My favorite part was when he would say, "Thank you for choosing the Polar Express. We know you have a choice in your Arctic Travel . . . " Our good friends the Purtymuns, put the train together. It was pulled by a skip loader and had a coal car, and they rigged it all so it made a whistle like a real train!!

At the North Pole (notice the "pole" in front of the building), everyone was greeted by one of Santa's elves. A child from each group was chosen to ring the bells to open the doors.

Then two additional elves would throw open the doors and others inside would yell, "Welcome to the North Pole!" It was very exciting.

The women who decorated the lobby did an amazing job!! They had such a cute place for pictures with Santa.

Also around the room were other displays, like the "nice lists" containing all the names of the children in our church congregation. There was also a naughty list--but we are keeping those names confidential. :-)

After greeting Santa and having pictures, everyone was whisked away to help out in Santa's workshops. We also had decorations all through the hallways, "street" signs with names like "Candy Cane Lane" and "Jingle Bell Way" as well as signs on the doors that said things like "Mrs. Claus Kitchen" and "Elves Break Room".

We had four workshops people could help out in. They included coloring pictures, making red and green paper chains and making snowflakes to be used to decorate rooms at Phoenix Children's Hospital, making blankets for a dialysis center, and stuffing stockings for homeless teenagers at a shelter.

Here some of Santa's helpers are coloring pictures. I think my favorite moment of the day was when a little boy about three years of age, colored his picture and then went down the hall to show it to Santa.

At 9:00 we all stopped for breakfast. All the snowflakes you see were made ahead of time and also donated to the hospital. Breakfast was delicious and I thought the room turned out really cute.

After breakfast we were all ready for a little fun and entertainment. One thing we did was sing "The Twelve Days of Christmas" with every table being assigned to act out a day.

Here are some of the "Lords a Leaping"

And this was my favorite--a partridge in a pear tree.

We began the party at 8:00 and finished at 10:01. And amazingly we were all cleaned up one hour later ( a little different than the six hours it took to set up!).

I think everyone had a great time. We collected a large car load of decorations for the hospital, made 28 blankets and had 29 stockings. But the best part of the entire party, for me at least, occurred yesterday when I delivered the Christmas stockings to the homeless shelter. The staff was so sweet and appreciative that I got in my car and started to cry. I wish everyone who had helped put this party together could have been there with me. It was a wonderful feeling.

Now I have been released from this calling--since activities chairman is no longer a calling in our church. And although I will miss doing it, I am looking forward to new adventures.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL

And may your always find . . . joy in your journey.

Wrapping Up Christmas!

Before I pack up the tree and put away the decorations, I wanted to write a little about our Christmas this year. And just to make sure I don’t bore everyone to death, I have limited my writing to our top five, okay, make that six, events—with me being the sole judge. (They are listed chronologically.)

1. Gingerbread house making! This is our second year to do this and we love it. Although my team's house didn’t quite turn out to be as cute as we envisioned, we still had a lot of fun. And we are already drawing up plans for next year so we can win the competition! (Sorry about the picture Kat!:-)

2. Games, games, and games! Kristen learned a board game at BYU from a boy who learned it from a friend who had lived in Asia—and that is why we don’t have a name for it. But Kristen made a game board from poster paper and then laminated it. We then used peanut butter M&M’s for the game pieces and had hours and hours of late night fun. (Although it is a game of strategy and requires deep concentration.)

3. Birthdays. This next event is one my two daughters participated in and one I feel is worthy of mentioning. My friend Christy, lost her son in an accident a year and a half ago. December 23 would have been his 17th birthday, and having a desire to celebrate his birthday in a positive way with his friends, Christy purchased 300 DVDs of the church film, “Families Can Be Together Forever”. About fifty youth in the area gathered together and within an hour had all the DVDs distributed throughout the neighborhood. What a wonderful way to celebrate! And what a great way to share the gospel! (Sorry I don't have pictures)

4 Smores! On Wednesday night we built a bonfire in the river bed that runs in front of our home. (There is rarely any water in an Arizona riverbed so it is a safe place to be) We then invited our neighbors, brought out the marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers and had a great time eating smores and visiting.

5. Christmas Eve at our house. Each year for the past 25 years we have celebrated Christmas Eve at our house (with the exception of the year we were in Guatemala). My sister- in-law, Judy, and her family came and spent the evening with us as well. One of her daughter’s brought her finance so it was fun to meet him. Our friends, the Farley’s were kind enough to smoke a turkey for us for our dinner and my daughter Camille, made very yummy side dishes while Kristen added the rolls. (I got the evening off!:-) Afterwards we played games, sang songs, read the Christmas story from the scriptures and then were entertained by Uncle George and his daughter, Riki, singing. I love traditions!!

After everyone left we opened our family gifts. Camille had made pj's for all the women (her first sewing project ever!!) They turned out so cute. We also bought matching pj's for the men. (If you look closely you can see how our family has gone to the dogs!)

6. Christmas morning. Always in the past the kids would wake us up at six, eager to open gifts. This year everyone slept in. I finally got up at seven and made muffins while everyone slumbered. By eight I couldn't take the suspence any longer and woke them all up. My daughter, Michelle, was hilarious. She had wanted to purchase gifts for everyone, but lacking money, she just wrapped each person something she found around the house. I got a can of corn and my husband got a razor. At least they were useful gifts! After breakfast we headed to Mesa to spend the afternoon with Grandma. It was a perfect day.

Earthly Poor, But Heavenly Blessed

I wrote this last year, but felt it could bear being posted again. It is one of my favorite memories and one of my favorite posts as it is one of the few I took a great deal of time to write. I hope you enjoy it.

While sitting in my daughter’s house this past week, I noticed her Christmas tree—sparsely decorated with two dishtowels where a tree skirt should be. It quickly took me back in time to my second Christmas with my husband.

We were married in early July and had our first child, Camille, in April. In the fall, my husband quit his job to attend graduate school, and we lived off a student loan and what I could make selling Tupperware.

Going back to school necessitated moving into a less expensive apartment. We found a duplex, set back from the road and nestled in a grove of trees. It had a bright, cheery, orange door, but once inside, the apartment lost most of its charm. Green was everywhere. The sea foam green walls were devoid of artwork and emanating from the forest green, shag carpet was a musty, tobacco smell. The kitchen linoleum was so worn it was difficult to determine its original color, but the green walls, olive green appliances and dark brown cupboards gave the room a dreary and depressing appearance.

Beyond the kitchen was the laundry room, where we placed our daughter’s crib, and directly across from it was our bedroom. Next to the bedroom, in stark contrast to the rest of the apartment, was a bright, yellow bathroom from which we could easily hear the neighbor’s conversations drifting through the vents. We filled the kitchen cupboards with cans of turkey chunks from the church cannery (a gift from my sister) and the freezer with hamburger meat purchased on sale from the butcher. We placed our worn, and I am sorry to say, green sofa along the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room and across from it we put our oak rocking chair, which was on loan from my parents.

I walked from the bathroom to the kitchen and around to the living room and sat down on the floor. Looking around the apartment I realized there was no longer any use denying it. We were poor.

Fall turned to winter and the bright colored leaves lay slumbering on the ground under a blanket of snow. It was December, and while the outside world bustled about preparing for Christmas, I was in bed recovering from surgery.

Then came a knock at our front door. First entered my neighbor Melinda, followed by her husband Kevin, arms laden with simmering hot casserole dishes and freshly baked rolls. Next came our neighbors Doug and Linda, returning our laundry smelling freshly washed and looking neatly pressed.

As we gathered in the living room to visit, I looked around, silently absorbing the scene before me. Dominating the room was our Christmas tree; a poor, scraggly, little thing propped up rather unceremoniously in an empty ice cream bucket and supported by river rock. Its spindly branches were draped with silver, metallic icicles in an effort to disguise the sparseness of their needles.

I sat next to the tree in the rocking chair, rocking my baby, now eight months old. My husband sat cross-legged next to me on the floor and our four guests, who were providently thin, scrunched in next to each other on the couch.

I could hear sweet musical laughter as stories were shared. I could smell the aroma of freshly baked bread in the kitchen begging for my attention, and I could see the Christmas tree lights twinkling next to me. I felt the warmth in the room, first on my skin and then deep down in my soul.

Suddenly it hit me. We were rich.

Life has changed much since then. We moved to Arizona, added four more children to our family and our worldly possessions increased. And yet many years later, we still count as our greatest blessings---and hence the source of our greatest wealth---family members and good friends who have brought such great joy, and richness. . . to our journey.

I am feeling very "rich" right now as well. My house is filled this week with my children, in laws and even a baby. What a great blessing this is!

May you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Rolls Part II, or . . . There are Angels Amongst Us

(For this to make sense you will need to scroll down for part one)

When I arrived at the hospital, I found my friend seated by her son’s side holding his hand. He was in pretty bad shape, but after a while he did begin to respond and we all breathed a sigh of relief. I had become very good at watching hospital monitors when my mother was ill, so I took up my vigil watching. After a while several family members started filling the room, so I hugged my friend goodbye and slipped out, ready to head home and take back the roll assignment.


But then I looked at my watch. It was now 3:30 p.m. and I still hadn’t marked a single item off my original Christmas to-do list. Being just a mile from the mall, and knowing the rolls were well cared for, I decided to head south for a quick run into Penney’s.


I hurried up the stairs, found what I wanted and got in the long line of customers waiting to check out. Just before it was my turn, I noticed an older woman ahead of me wearing a “Grandma’s Rules” t-shirt. As the little old lady hobbled off, in my cheeriest voice I commented to her that I liked her shirt. She didn’t even look at me as she walked past. Note to self, “Don’t try to be friendly to old grumbling grandmas during the Christmas rush.”


I put my purchase on the counter and pulled out my wallet, when I noticed a set of unfamiliar keys sitting on the counter, most likely belonging to the old woman. I handed them to the cashier, made my purchase and hurried down the stairs to head home. But as I reached the door my conscience began to bother me and I thought I should at least look around to see if I could spot the owner of the keys. After a cursory search, my conscience was eased and I headed out.


Then into my mind came the thought to go back and leave by a different door. On my way back through the store, I glanced over and there at the cashier stand was Grandma Grumpy. I went and told her that she may have left her keys upstairs. That is when I learned I had been judging her erroneously.


She responded with, “Oh, no!” She caught hold of the table for balance and then looking at me pleadingly she added, “I can’t go up and get them. I just can’t.” She went on to explain she had recently had surgery and had only been home a few days. She was feeling okay earlier and thought she could hurry to the mall to make a few needed purchases but now she was feeling very ill and couldn’t do anything but go home.


I ran back up the stairs and across the floor to the cashier. Hoping I looked honest, I explained I had found the owner of the keys and would take them to her. She no longer had them. She had taken them to “Lost and Found” so I now needed to go there. No problem. I ran back across the floor, found “Lost and Found” and asked if I could have the keys. “Sure” the lady said, “You just need to tell me what they look like and I will give them to you.” Are you kidding me??? I didn’t think telling her they weren’t mine would be a good idea at this point, so doing my best to remember, I vaguely described them. She handed me a set, and hoping they were the right ones, I ran back across the floor, down the stairs and over to where I had left the old woman standing. Only she wasn’t there. She had wandered off in search of a chair.


Finally, I found her, gave her the keys and headed once again for the door. But just as I got there I glanced back and noticed the woman attempting to gather her packages. I knew there was no way she could carry all those items, so I went back and offered to help her to her car. She accepted my offer and we very slowly made our way across the parking lot to where her car was parked.


And then my day changed completely.


With tears in her eyes, she reached up and gave me a very big hug and said, “Thank you so much! You are my angel.”


As for the rolls . . . well, other than Lisa’s husband trying to tell me she burned them, all was well. Lisa brought beautiful, fluffy and perfectly golden rolls to the dinner that night. As I enjoyed one with my meal, the words of the grandma at the store kept echoing in my mind. I may have been her angel, but Lisa had been mine.


And then I realized something. When I ran off to help Wendy, Lisa needed to help me because I had been helping Michelle, and I was helping Michelle because she had been helping Jennifer, and Jennifer and Wendy both helped me at my daughter’s wedding.


It was a circle of sisters. It was a circle of angels.


And then I remembered a quote by Joseph Smith in this month’s visiting teaching message that said, “‘If you live up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates."


I was surrounded by angels.

And that is a pretty nice place to be.

Christmas Memories

So what Christmas do you remember most? I have a few that stand out in my mind—each for a different reason. Some of my favorite memories are . . .


1. The year I got a bike lock. I was about 14 at the time. My brother, Randy, had recently returned from his mission and was a poor student. But he had my name for Christmas and when I opened the gift it was a bike lock. I appreciated the gift, but my bike wasn’t working so it seemed like a gift I would have to save for a later day. Then he went downstairs and carried up a bike. It wasn’t a new bike, it was my old one, all fixed. Not having any money, but being a very good artist, Randy bartered with the Schwinn company to fix my bike in exchange for painting a Christmas scene on their store windows. I was so touched that he would work that hard to give me a gift that I have always remembered it.


2. The year I got photo albums. Along the same line, one year my husband gave me photo albums for Christmas. That is a gift I will always treasure, because he not only gave the albums, but he spent countless hours filling each page with pictures from our trips. It was truly a gift from the heart.


3. My first year in the mission field. I remember this Christmas mostly because I was so very lonely. I was serving in Esmeraldas, Ecuador at the time, which is a very poor town on the coast. It was very hot, very humid and very dirty. It was everything a Utah Christmas is not. It was also the first time I had been away from home for Christmas and I very much missed my family. The people were so poor that we did not eat with the families, and so for Christmas we were on our own. But my companion and I started singing Christmas carols wherever we went, on the bus, walking down the streets and on the front porch of the little house we used for a church building. We always were singing a Christmas song. That very simple act changed that Christmas for me from one of sheer loneliness to one where I felt the Christmas spirit very deeply. I will always be grateful for that memory.


4. My parents first year in Guatemala. My parents were called to serve in the Guatemalan temple and so moved there for three years. During their first year, I felt bad they would be away from everyone for Christmas so we decided to take Christmas to them. We arrived (myself, my husband, and all five of our children) late Christmas Eve and spent the next several hours wrapping presents for my parents. In the morning we all watched while they un-wrapped the gifts we brought. We also had collected clothes from the people in our stake and took down several suitcases filled with clothes for needy families. So part of our day was spent sorting through those and planning ways to distribute them. It was a Christmas I think we will all remember as it was totally focused on serving others.


5. Last year. In many ways, last year was the Christmas that wasn’t—at least in a traditional sense. My son, who had recently married, was in Utah with his bride, and I was in Colorado with my daughter who had just given birth to our first grandchild. My husband was home with our three younger daughters. I missed the Christmas Eve party at my house and being awakened early in the morning by kids eager to open their gifts. However, as I held that dear sweet baby in my arms for the first time and celebrated her birth, I felt very close to a young mother many years ago, who held her first child in her arms on that very first Christmas morning. And my heart rejoiced with her.


While reflecting over my past Christmases, I find it interesting that the most memorable gifts were not those that cost the most, or the abundance, but rather those that came wrapped in love. And the Christmas memories I hold most dear are the ones whre Christmas was the most simple.

Just a thought. . .for your journey

Learning To Be A Good Gift . . . Receiver????

"Christmas means giving. The Father gave His Son, and the Son gave His life. Without giving there is no true Christmas . . . “ (Gordon B. Hinckley)

I love that quote and believe it. I look forward to giving Christmas gifts each year. But, no matter how much time, thought and effort any of us put into giving, it would be of no value if there were no one to receive the gift.

“For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift.” (D&C 88:33)

Just as important as being a good gift giver, I believe, is learning to be a good gift receiver.

A short time ago, my husband and I delivered a birthday present to a friend. I had made cinnamon rolls and we placed them in a box along with individual bottles of juice and chocolate milk, as well as all the paper products, party favors, and decorations needed to have an official family “Birthday Party Breakfast”. When we arrived at our friend’s home and gave him the gift he was extremely gracious. He expressed his delight for the cinnamon rolls, commented on how fun it was to get a gift “with a theme” and showed excitement for everything in the box. The next morning he sent a text telling us how delicious the breakfast was and the following day he once again thanked us for thinking of him and expressed his appreciation. This friend is truly a great gift receiver.

I know many other people who are also great gift receivers. Unfortunately I also know people who struggle receiving gifts, and I myself have on occasion fallen into this category. In thinking about what makes a great gift receiver, I have thought of three main qualities.

1. Humility. I know people who are simply uncomfortable being the center of attention and so resist any display of love or affection by others in the form of gifts. Other times it may be a bit humiliating to realize someone has noted our need and provided something for us we were not able to do for ourselves.

An example of this occurred when my husband and I were newlyweds. The ward was hosting a Christmas party and charging $10.00 per couple. (Back then they could do this.) We did not have the money to purchase the tickets and therefore were not planning to attend. However, the bishop, aware of our need, secured tickets for us and left them in an envelope on our front porch. At first we were embarrassed at our poverty and did not want to go. Then we felt perhaps we should find the money to purchase them ourselves. But in the end we humbled ourselves and put away our feelings of embarrassment, attended the party and thanked the bishop for the blessing.

Being a good gift receiver means putting aside our own feelings of pride and discomfort and being humble enough to focus on the feelings of the giver.

2. Charity. Often the value we place on a gift is determined by the love we have for the giver. If we value the giver, we will most likely value the gift. Learning to be a good gift receiver, therefore, includes developing a gift of love for those who give.

3. Gratitude. I learned an important lesson about gratitude when I was nine. My family drew names for Christmas each year and that year my sister had my name. One day I discovered the Christmas gift she had purchased for me—large hair clips. I was a bit disappointed in getting hair clips for Christmas and expressed my feelings to her. Her response was, “Then I won’t give them to you.” And she didn’t. She didn’t get me anything else either. That Christmas morning when everyone else opened their family gifts, I was wishing very much I had just been grateful for the hair clips and I was ashamed of my selfishness.

I have often heard people say, “But that isn’t what I wanted” or “I don’t want anything so don’t give me anything”. I have learned that it isn’t always about what we want, it is also about what the giver wants to give. Our job is to learn to be grateful for what we are given.

I think it is also important to learn to see beyond the gift and appreciate the time and effort that may have gone into preparing the gift itself. I am reminded of a story of a man who walked many miles to the seashore to get a sea shell. In giving the gift he told the receiver that the long walk was part of the gift. Gratitude entails not only being grateful for the gift itself, but also recognizing the time and effort made to prepare the gift.

I hope this Christmas Season we can all not only be good gift givers, but also good gift receivers. Because the greatest gift ever given was the birth, life and atoning sacrifice of our Lord, Jesus Christ. And His is a gift that only benefits us if we are willing to receive it. May we always receive His gift with humility, love and appreciation, for receiving the gift of His life into our hearts is what will truly bring . . . joy to our journey.